SEC Extends Confidential Filings to all IPOs

By Nelson Griggs /
Executive Vice President of Listing Services at Nasdaq

Effective July 10, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will adopt a policy change that allows all companies to confidentially file draft registration statements for initial public offerings. Previously, only an Emerging Growth Company could file confidentially. In addition, the SEC will also allow confidential filing for most offerings made in the first year after a company goes public. These changes provide additional flexibility for companies to plan their IPOs.

Nasdaq applauds this action, which expands a key provision of the JOBS Act. We have long supported the JOBS Act, and have called for expansion of its provisions, including those that allow confidential filing and “testing-the-waters”—most recently in our blueprint to revitalize the U.S. capital markets, as well as in our 2017 and 2016 testimonies before subcommittees of the Financial Service Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The SEC’s announcement is one step toward a revitalized market environment, and we support continued action that will help companies access a steady and dependable stream of capital to grow their business.